Practicum Requirements Modifications for practice during the COVID pandemic are appropriate and will be negotiated by the mentor teacher, the university supervisor, and the practicum candidate. 1. Attendance and active participation in seminars that meet across the entire term. 2. Professional Demeanor : The faculty in Secondary Education is dedicated to preparing skilled, caring future classroom professionals. Teacher candidates must demonstrate behaviors that support their own professional development as well as the high achievement of children in the classroom. These behaviors and dispositions must demonstrate commitment to high academic, professional, and ethical standards, which includes wearing appropriate professional attire for school settings. 3. Lesson Planning: Candidates will be expected to plan and teach a minimum of four [4] lessons while in the Practicum classroom and will be observed while teaching at least two lessons by a university Supervisor. 4. Reflective Journal : The purpose of maintaining a reflective journal is to provide an important record of candidate growth and to give the supervisor a greater understanding of what the candidate is experiencing. The supervisor will discuss his/her expectations regarding the content and format of the journal. Journal prompts are often provided by supervisors. 5. Competency Appraisal: Teacher candidates should be thoroughly familiar with the Competency Appraisal. This documents progress in the important skills of teaching and constitutes an important portion of the grade. In Practicum and Student Teaching, the teacher candidate/student teacher, university supervisor, and mentor teacher each fill out an online Competency Appraisal. Competency Appraisals are completed in SONIA. Directions will follow as a means to guide this assessment process. Additionally, word documents of the Competency Appraisals are found in SEC ED Student Materials page: https://nl.edu/national-college-of-education/current- students/program-handbooks-and-materials/sec-materials/ 6. In Practicum, the Competency Appraisal is filled out at the end of the term. There is a school- based evaluation conference in which the teacher candidate, university supervisor, and mentor teacher discuss the candidate’s progress. Evaluators post their documents on the Field Experience Module in SONIA. 7. Video Recording and Coaching : Practicum candidates are required to tape a lesson at the direction of the methods instructor. The video provides an opportunity for self-reflection for all candidates. Video coaching is designed to offer in-depth support and targeted feedback related to core teaching practices prior to student teaching. Practicum – Supervision Practicum Introductory Meeting: This is an introductory visit that should take place during the first two weeks of the term with the teacher candidate, Mentor teacher, and university supervisor. The purpose of this visit is to get acquainted, ensure that NLU expectations are understood by all, and for questions to be answered. At this time, the supervisor, teacher candidate, and mentor teacher should arrange the first date for a formal observation visit.
SEC Practicum/ST Handbook 2025-2026
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